Last Trip
by Kali Omisha
Summary: Mama Murphy takes a deadly trip down memory lane when she visits the Memory Lounge. Violence, death, graphic images and some smut in future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

It was cold and raining as she slowly made her way through the gates of Goodneighbor. Her old body was stiff and every step hurt as she made her way past Kill or be killed. She pulled her thin coat tighter as a cold wind blew some of her loose gray hair from her face.

She walked past the ghouls standing guard at the state house and knew she was getting closer to her first destination. Thinking of the warmth that was ahead made her walk a little faster. She looked up at a sign above a door and smiled when she read it. The third rail.

She pushed the door open and sighed as the warmth welcomed her in. A well dressed ghoul looked at her and nodded, "Good morning Miss Murphy."

Mama murphy smiled back at him as she walked to the stairway leading down to the bar. "Good morning." She said as she started her decent. She took each step slowly as she gripped the handrail with an old frail hand.

She stopped for a moment to catch her breath when she reached the bottom. She scanned the room looking for a good place to sit and rest as she listened to Magnolia sing.

She noticed the room was empty and saw her favorite couch was open to sit in. She slowly moved across the room and moaned as her stiff joints protested her movement. She sat on the couch letting out a sigh of relief as she leaned back and tried to ignore the throbbing pain.

Traveling from Sanctuary hills was becoming harder and harder for her body to handle. She remembered when she used to enjoy the short journey to her favorite place. She never carried a weapon, never liked the damn things in the first place.

The wild creatures were friendly to her and the raiders respected her, they even helped her through the ruins occasionally. She closed her eyes for a moment as her cold body absorbed the warmth of the room.

She sighed as memories of her past flowed through her mind. She had lived a long hard life and it felt like it was finally coming to an end soon. She opened her eyes when Magnolia stopped singing.

She watched as Magnolia walked off the stage and sat at the bar. Charlie placed a glass in front of her then went back to wiping out dirty glasses.

She pulled an old photograph from her pocket and looked at it with a smile. It was an old picture of a young woman. The picture had no color, but she still had her memories of how it should have looked. The woman's hair was long and untamed with a silvery shine to it. Her face was expressionless, but her eyes were fierce. Mama Murphy let out a silent laugh as she scolded her self for not smiling.

She felt the couch move as someone sat next to her. She looked up from the photo and smiled when she saw the red coat.

"Good morning John."

"I wouldn't say it's good, but it is morning Mama." He put a hand on his forehead and moaned. "I hate waking up sober."

Mama Murphy laughed softly as she started to put the picture away and dropped it. Hancock leaned forward and picked it up before she could grab it. He looked at it and whistled. "Damn, who's the sexy dame?"

Mama Murphy blushed as she took it back from Hancock. "That's me John."

Hancock paused as he looked at the old woman sitting next to him. The thought of her being that beautiful was a bit shocking to him. "Ya don't say?"

Mama Murphy rolled her eyes and laughed. "Wasn't always an old crone ya know."

Hancock sat back and laughed. "Yeah, just never thought of you being young I guess." He stood up and stretched, "I need a drink, cant stand this sober shit. Want something? Its on the house if ya do."

Mama Murphy nodded her head. "I'll take a scotch if you don't mind."

"Scotch it is then." He turned away as he started walking to the bar. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but watched as he spoke to Charlie. She put her hand into a large pocket in her coat and felt her old journal. She pulled it out and looked at it as she pulled out an old pen. She opened it to its last few blank pages and started writing as quickly as she could. She wrote her last few words when a glass of scotch appeared before her eyes.

She closed her journal and laid it on the small coffee table in front of the couch. She took the glass and smiled up at Hancock. "Thank you dear."

Hancock sat next to her and tipped his hat in her direction. "No problem sister." He looked at he journal on the table "Ya writing a story?"

Mama Murphy sipped her scotch and felt her chest warm up with the fiery spirit. "Kind of, I've been writing it ever since I learned how to write." She took another sip and smiled as she felt the pains in her body dull a bit. "I started it when I was about six."

Hancock whistled as he looked at it with wide eye's "That's a lot of writing, I try to avoid anything that requires my handwriting. Got the stack of papers on my desk to prove it." He pushed his hand into his pocket and pulled out tin of mentats. He opened it and popped two pills into his mouth. He held the tin out for Mama Murphy and grinned, "Want one, its grape flavored."

Mama Murphy was tempted, but she needed to stay level headed for what she planed on doing later. "No thank you, maybe another time dear."

Hancock closed the tin as he looked at Mama Murphy. "Ya shur? Never knew ya to turn down chems before." He slowly put the tin back in his pocket.

Mama Murphy nodded her head. "Yeah I'm sure John. Its just a bit too early is all." She hated how it felt to lie to him. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a small box that was wrapped in brown paper. She smiled as she handed it to him.

Hancock took the small package and looked at it with a puzzled look. "What's this for?"

Mama Murphy smiled as she shrugged her shoulders. "Just something I figured you might like."

Hancock unwrapped the box and opened it. He grinned as he took the lid off and saw an ultra Jet. "I do like it, what's the special occasion?"

Mama Murphy took anther sip of her scotch before answering him. "Nothing special, just something I've had for awhile. Can't use the stronger stuff anymore and I knew you would be the best person to give it to." Mama Murphy watched as he held the Ultra jet in his hand.

Hancock looked at her as he put his arm around her and gave her a hug. "Thanks Mama, I promise it will be put to good use." He let go of her and leaned back as he put the Ultra jet to his mouth.

Mama murphy slowly stood up and finished the last of her scotch. "Your welcome, I'm going to walk around for a bit. These old bones get stiff if I sit too long."

Hancock nodded as he pressed the top and inhaled the chem. He held his breath for as long as he could before letting it out. "Take it easy Mama, I'll be here if ya need anything." He smiled as he tilted his head back and closed his eyes. "That's what I'm talking about."

Mama Murphy wished she could feel the high he was probably riding. She gently patted his shoulder as she walked by "Enjoy it John." He just grinned at her before closing his eyes again.

Mama Murphy walked up the stairs and looked back as she stood on the top step. She prayed he wouldn't come out of his high too fast before finding her journal that she left for him to read.

She nodded at the ghoul standing guard and kept walking as fast as she could. She knew Hancock would be at the bar eventually. He was the only person she truly liked and felt it was fitting that he know about her past after she was gone.

Mama Murphy walked out of the Third rail and looked across the way at her last stop. The memory lounge.

She slowly made her way across and pushed the door open. She smelled the heavy musk of whatever it was that Irma smoked before going in. She took a deep breath and stepped inside. She walked down the small hallway and turned to see a large room with memory loungers lining each side. She walked in and looked at each lounger as she approached a woman that was laying on a parlor chair.

Mama Murphy stopped walking as looked at the well dressed woman. She had a book in front of her face and was deeply entranced with whatever it was she was reading. Mama Murphy coughed to get her attention.

The woman put the book down and glared at Mama Murphy for a moment. Her face lit up when she saw it was Mama Murphy and tossed the book aside. "Well, if it isn't Miss Murphy! Been quite a long time since your last visit." She stood up and hugged Mama Murphy. "How have you been?"

Mama Murphy gave the woman a soft smile as she hugged her back. "I'm doing ok for the most part dear, getting old can be a bit rough though. I wouldn't recommend it Irma."

Irma let go of Mama Murphy and laughed. "I'm going to try and avoid it if I can." She motioned at the loungers, "So, what memory do you want today?"

Mama Murphy walked to the closest lounger and took a deep breath. "I want to start with the earliest one if that's possible."

Irma nodded as she prepared the machine. "I can do that. No need to pay me anything, your memories are always quite exquisite and I enjoy watching them. Don't think I remember you ever asking to go back that far though. I have to warn you, the older the memories the harder the machine has to work."

Irma picked up a vial from behind the machine and pushed a syringe into it. She approached Mama Murphy and motioned for her to remove her coat. "The machine is going to be working harder at pulling your memories and its going to drain you. This session might be shorter then what your used to. I'll have to pull you out when your vitals drop below the safety threshold. Do you understand?"

Mama Murphy nodded her head. "I understand Irma."

Irma gently grabbed Mama Murphy's arm and held the syringe against her skin. "Have you used any chems recently?"

Mama Murphy had been planning this for months and had stopped a few weeks ago. "Been about a month since my last chem dear."

Irma nodded as she pushed the syringe in and pushed the tracer serum into Mama Murphy's vein. "All right, your ready to relive your memories, I already know the answer but I have to ask anyway. Do I have your permission to copy your memories?"

Mama Murphy nodded her head. "You can copy all you want dear."

Irma smiled as she clapped her hands together. "Thank you! I cant wait to see them!" Irma helped Mama Murphy into the lounge and pushed the top down locking it into place. "I'm going to get a fresh holotape before I start you. I'll be right back." Irma smiled at Mama Murphy before turning away.

Mama Murphy watched her rush away and disappear through a doorway. She quickly pulled a piece of metal from her pocket and jammed it into the handle preventing the lounger from being opened from the outside. She quickly sat back when she heard Irma's footsteps as she rushed back through the door and held up a Holotape with a smile on her face.

Mama Murphy let her head lean back as she listened to Irma push the holotape into the machine. "All right, were set."

Mama Murphy felt the lounger vibrate as it turned on. She felt her limbs get heavy as her eyes closed. She took a deep breath and let herself drift into her mind knowing she wasn't going to wake up from this last trip into her past.


	2. Jumping in

It was warm and sunny as he looked around for the kitten he had followed into the gardens. It was a small grey thing that looked hungry and was probably half starved. He rounded a corner and saw a girl was sitting on one of the benches in front of the podium where the Mayor gave all her speeches. He looked at the enormous green wall that stood behind it and knew he was safe in Diamond city with it being in place.

He scanned the ground as he approached the girl and still didn't see that kitten. He was about to turn back when he heard a soft meow come from where the girl was sitting.

He turned and saw the kitten was standing on the bench next to her and it was begging her for food. He pulled out the small piece of bread he had found and cautiously approached the girl on the bench. "Hey, don't let it run away." He said with a calm quiet voice.

The girl turned to look at him and smiled as she passed a piece of food to the kitten. "She yours?"

The boy shook his head. "Naw, I've been bringing it food for a few days now. I don't like to see things suffer."

The girl smiled as she nodded her head. "Me nighther, My name is Ellie, my family just moved here a few days ago."

The boy held his hand out and smiled as she placed her hand in his. "I'm John McDonough nice to meet you."

He placed the piece of bread on the bench and watched as the kitten looked at it before biting it and ran off with the bread in its mouth. "Someday ill get to touch it, just got to earn its trust is all."

Ellie nodded her head. "Trust is a rare thing to find in the commonwealth, that's what my father always says anyway."

John climbed over the back of the bench and sat next to her he was thirteen and his curiosity with girls was something new to him. He looked at her hands and saw she was holding a book. "You like to read?" He almost wanted to fade away after asking such a stupid question.

Ellie smiled as she held the book up. "I love to read, I try to read everything I can find. The world before the war is so fascinating. Did you know that at one time there were huge creatures called elephants that roamed around?" Her eyes lit up as she looked at John.

He shook his head and started to answer her when a voice behind them made him cringe.

"Awww, Is little Johnny flirting with a girl?"

John took a deep breath as he turned to face his brother. "I'm just talking to her James, go away."

He watched as he brother kept walking towards them. "And miss the chance to see my little brother screw up his chances with a girl?"

John stood up and glanced at Ellie. "I'm sorry, my brother is an ass."

Ellie nervously laughed as she stood up. She dropped her book and it landed in he middle of the two boys. James grabbed it before John could even move and started flipping through the pages. "Books are so useless, why even bother with such a stupid thing?"

John climbed over the bench and tried to snatch it back from his brother. "Give it back to her James!"

The boy holding the book laughed as he jerked the book back ripping a page.

Ellie gasped. "Don't! your going to ruin it!"

James gave her an evil grin. "There are plenty of these stupid things laying about, why care about one stupid book?" He grabbed a page and ripped it out then tossed it on the ground.

Ellie started crying as she ran around the bench and grabbed the page that was starting to flitter away with the wind.

John balled his hand into a fist as he stepped closer to his brother. "Just give it back!"

James laughed. "Or what? Ya gonna hit me if I don't?" He ripped another page and let it fall to the ground.

John growled as he lunged at his brother. He swung at his face and missed as his brother side stepped and slammed the book in John's face knocking him into a mud puddle.

"Pathetic John, one of these day's you'll get it through your thick skull I'm better then you." He threw the book down and laughed when it landed in the mud next to John.

John stood up and glared at his brother as wisps of muddy blond hair dangled in front of his face. "I hate you!"

James looked at John and laughed. "I've hated you since the day you were born, so I guess the feeling is mutual." James turned and walked away from John, stepping on he book pushing it further into the mud.

John felt something trickle from his nose and he used the back of his arm to wipe it away. He saw a trail of blood on his arm and felt his anger flare. He picked up a rock and threw it at his brother hitting him on the back of his head and watched as it landed on the ground. James turned around and gave John a murderous look of hate.

He picked a rock up and rushed at John with it held tightly in his hand. He grabbed John by his jacket and slammed the rock against the side of his head. John heard Ellie scream as everything flashed white then nothing.

"Mayor Hancock! Wake up!" John felt someone shake him as the memory of his dream faded away.

He sat up and moaned as he put a hand to his throbbing head. He was sitting on the couch in the third rail and was covered in sweat. He looked up to see one of his guards was staring down at him.

He reached for a glass on the coffee table in front of him and saw a book was sitting next to it. He drank the liquid from the glass and felt his throat burn with the alcohol that had been in it. "What is it?" He asked as he picked up the book and remembered it was the journal that Mama Murphy had been writing in.

"We have a situation at the Memory lounge." He waited for Hancock to respond before moving.

Hancock groaned. Was probably some junkie having a flash back after one of Irma's sessions. He flipped through the journal and stopped when he saw his name written in large letters on a back page. "Hancock, I'm sorry I had to do it like this but its time for this old bird to fly home. You hold my entire life in your hands and I know you're the only person I can trust to share it with. You have always treated me like a friend and you never scolded me for my chem use. I know Preston and the others will be upset but they will move on. Thank you again for being a great friend, this is my last goodbye John, stay safe and keep being the man I saw years ago when you stood up to your brother."

Hancock blinked his eyes, he knew something was up when she refused the Mentats. He closed the book and groaned when he saw his guard was still standing, waiting for him to say something. "Just take care of whatever the problem is and throw whoever is causing trouble in the jail for a day or two." He needed to find Mama Murphy and get her back to Sanctuary before she does whatever she planned on doing.

The guard took a deep breath and gave Hancock a weary look. "Its Mama Murphy sir…"

Hancock quickly stood up and rushed passed the guard before he could finish his words. He ran up the stairs and slammed the door open as he rushed through it. The sky was dark and it was raining hard as he kept running to the Memory lounge. He must have been really out of it for it to be this late. It was just the early hours of the morning when he arrived at The Third Rail. He then remembered the ultra Jet Mama Murphy had given him and groaned as he realized the old bird had planed everything and cold dread sent chills down his spine.

He opened the door and rushed into the lounge room and saw Dr. Amari and Irma were franticly trying to open one of the loungers. He quickly approached them and looked into the machine to see Mama Murphy was inside laying peacefully as the machine beeped.

Irma ran to Hancock and wiped tears from her face. "We cant get her out and her vitals are dropping!"

Hancock looked behind the machine. "Just unplug it then damn it!"

Dr. Amari shook her head. "You cant just shut it down like that when someone is inside, it will cause brain damage to the user." She gripped the handle of the lounger door and tried to pull it open. "She jammed it shut from the inside some how."

Hancock knelt down and tried to turn the handle. It was jammed tight and wouldn't budge. He stood up and tried to kick the handle open. Irma grabbed him by his arm and tried to pull him away from the machine. "John stop! That might break it and kill her!" Irma yelled.

Hancock growled as he glared at her. "Well isn't there some kind of emergency shut of system?" He looked back at Mama Murphy and silently thought of the chewing out he was going to give the old bird.

Irma cried as she shook her head. "Its built into the door, if something goes wrong the door safely shuts everything down when it's opened."

The beeping started getting worse and Irma turned away "I don't want to watch this!"

Hancock looked at Dr. Amari. "Isn't there anything we can fucking do to save her!"

Amari looked at the lounger Mama Murphy was in then at the lounger next to it. She took a deep breath and looked back at Hancock. "There is a way John, but I don't recommend it."

Irma turned to look at Amari. "Don't you dare Amari, loosing one person is bad enough, but two people? No. I wont have it!"

Hancock looked at Irma then at Amari as she spoke. "But if it saves one then we have to take the risk Irma." Amari looked at Hancock. "We can hook another machine to hers and have them share her memories, it will take the strain off her system and spread it between the two minds."

Hancock crossed his arms as he looked at Irma. "What is the risk?"

Irma took a shaky breath. "The connected mind wont be able to leave the host mind until they willingly wake up releasing both connections."

Hancock looked at Mama Murphy. She planned on dying in that thing while reliving her memories of her past, not a bad way to go if you think about it. Hancock took a deep breath. "If someone connects can they interact with her?"

Dr. Amari shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, I've never done it with human to human transfer. Nate did it with Kellogg's memory chip but he had Nick's mind to help him."

The beeping of the machine started pulsing faster. Hancock took his coat off and laid it on a chair next to the empty memory lounge that was next to Mama Murphy. "Lets save the old bird then."

Irma rushed to Hancock and placed a hand on his shoulder stopping him from stepping into the lounge. "You cant John, what if she never wakes up…"

Hancock shrugged her hand away. "Then we both die I guess." He climbed into the memory lounge and sat. "Dr. Amari, if something goes wrong and Fahr doesn't want the position, I name you as GoodNeighbor's next Mayor."

Dr. Amari rolled her eyes. "I don't think that is going to be necessary John." She rolled up his sleeve and pushed a syringe into his arm. "Just come back to us and bring Mama Murphy with you." Dr. Amari shut the lounger door and went to the back of the machine. She pulled a cord from the back and connected it to Mama Murphy's lounger.

She stood behind Hancock's lounger and took a deep breath. "Are you ready?"

Hancock grinned. "Ready as I'll ever be Amari." He leaned his head back and closed his eyes as he felt the familiar hum of the machine start and felt his mind slip into the darkness.

He opened his eyes and blinked with the blinding glare of the sun above him. He looked around and saw he was in a chain link cage of some kind. There were men walking around wearing gold and red armor and a group of people stood around the fence staring in at him. He looked down and saw a group of young girls were chained together with metal collars locked around their necks.

He shook his head as he realized this was some kind of slaver group. One of the girls looked up at him and gave him an odd look. Her hair was silver and her eyes were such a light blue they almost looked grey. "John? I don't remember you being here?"


End file.
